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Red Lobster
RL Investor Holdings LLC doing business as Red Lobster, (formerly Red Lobster Hospitality, LLC) is an American casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company has operations across most of the United States (including Puerto Rico), and Canada, as well as in Ecuador, Japan, Mexico, and Thailand. Golden Gate Capital was Red Lobster's parent company after it was acquired from Darden Restaurants on July 28, 2014. Seafood supplier Thai Union acquired a 25% stake in the company in 2016 for a reported $575 million and in 2020 purchased the remaining portion from GGC.
In May 2024, Red Lobster closed at least 99 of its restaurants and then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after securing over $100 million in financing commitments from its lenders. The company has also entered a stalking horse agreement to sell itself and have its lenders manage it.
The first Red Lobster restaurant was opened on January 18, 1968, in Lakeland, Florida, by entrepreneurs Bill Darden and Charley Woodsby. The oft-quoted date of March 27, 1968, is based on the incorporation date of Red Lobster Inns of America, Inc. (now GMRI, Inc.) in the Florida Secretary of State's Office.
Originally billed as the "Harbor for Seafood Lovers", the first restaurant was followed by four others throughout the American South. In 1970, General Mills acquired Red Lobster as a five-unit company and with new backing, the chain expanded rapidly in the 1980s.
Red Lobster entered Canada in the 1980s, in many cases by buying Ponderosa Steakhouse locations. Currently, Red Lobster generally maintains between 25 and 30 locations in Canada, the bulk in larger urban centres in Ontario (across Southern Ontario (from Southwestern Ontario through Golden Horseshoe and southern to Eastern Ontario) plus one in Sudbury, in northern Ontario and Barrie, Ontario in Central Ontario) with a smaller number in larger urban centres in all three Prairie provinces (Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg). It exited the Quebec market (14 locations including Vanier and Montreal) in September 1997, due to financial losses, and was entirely absent from the Maritime provinces, British Columbia and the Arctic territories.
In 1991, Red Lobster introduced its now famous garlic cheese biscuits (given the name Cheddar Bay Biscuits in 1996) developed by culinary leader Kurt Hankins.
On March 29, 1994, Bill Darden died, after an extended illness, at the age of 75.
In 1995, Red Lobster (along with Olive Garden and other sister chains), became part of Darden Restaurants, Inc. During that time, General Mills decided to release Darden into an independent, publicly traded corporation.
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Red Lobster
RL Investor Holdings LLC doing business as Red Lobster, (formerly Red Lobster Hospitality, LLC) is an American casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company has operations across most of the United States (including Puerto Rico), and Canada, as well as in Ecuador, Japan, Mexico, and Thailand. Golden Gate Capital was Red Lobster's parent company after it was acquired from Darden Restaurants on July 28, 2014. Seafood supplier Thai Union acquired a 25% stake in the company in 2016 for a reported $575 million and in 2020 purchased the remaining portion from GGC.
In May 2024, Red Lobster closed at least 99 of its restaurants and then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after securing over $100 million in financing commitments from its lenders. The company has also entered a stalking horse agreement to sell itself and have its lenders manage it.
The first Red Lobster restaurant was opened on January 18, 1968, in Lakeland, Florida, by entrepreneurs Bill Darden and Charley Woodsby. The oft-quoted date of March 27, 1968, is based on the incorporation date of Red Lobster Inns of America, Inc. (now GMRI, Inc.) in the Florida Secretary of State's Office.
Originally billed as the "Harbor for Seafood Lovers", the first restaurant was followed by four others throughout the American South. In 1970, General Mills acquired Red Lobster as a five-unit company and with new backing, the chain expanded rapidly in the 1980s.
Red Lobster entered Canada in the 1980s, in many cases by buying Ponderosa Steakhouse locations. Currently, Red Lobster generally maintains between 25 and 30 locations in Canada, the bulk in larger urban centres in Ontario (across Southern Ontario (from Southwestern Ontario through Golden Horseshoe and southern to Eastern Ontario) plus one in Sudbury, in northern Ontario and Barrie, Ontario in Central Ontario) with a smaller number in larger urban centres in all three Prairie provinces (Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg). It exited the Quebec market (14 locations including Vanier and Montreal) in September 1997, due to financial losses, and was entirely absent from the Maritime provinces, British Columbia and the Arctic territories.
In 1991, Red Lobster introduced its now famous garlic cheese biscuits (given the name Cheddar Bay Biscuits in 1996) developed by culinary leader Kurt Hankins.
On March 29, 1994, Bill Darden died, after an extended illness, at the age of 75.
In 1995, Red Lobster (along with Olive Garden and other sister chains), became part of Darden Restaurants, Inc. During that time, General Mills decided to release Darden into an independent, publicly traded corporation.